Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L. var. virginiana; hereafter ERC) is a native species currently invading open areas and grasslands outside of its original range in the United States. We studied ERC’s invasion patterns in the Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve (LDSNP), a short grass prairie located on the Marblehead Peninsula in Ohio, examining the changes in the genetic diversity and structure of the encroaching population. We investigated the relative importance of long-distance dispersal versus diffusion in the invasion of this short grass prairie by ERC. We use eight microsatellite marker loci to infer gene flow from external sources versus within-population recruitment. We found that the older trees in this preserve were less than 50 yr old, indicating that the population was established between 1970 and 1980. When we grouped trees into five age categories of 10-yr increments, we found that the allelic diversity, as indicated by the average number of alleles per locus, increased as the age of the trees decreased. We also found that not all loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, probably due to the arrival of new variants in the preserve. Moreover, heterozygosity remained high, with an excess of heterozygotes in all age groups (F = −0.163 ± 0.046). Principal coordinate analysis showed two distinct groups of trees in the LDSNP. Analysis of the cryptic population structure of the ERC trees using STRUCTURE revealed four ancestral clusters in the ERC population. All ancestral clusters are present in all age groups, suggesting that all trees sampled are derived from an admixed population. Furthermore, the high observed heterozygosity and lack of inbreeding in this dioecious species maintained all ancestral clusters over time. Overall, our findings indicate that ERC encroachment of the LDSNP results from multiple and reiterated gene flow events from the edge of the range through animal-mediated seed dispersal.

The Babile Elephant Sanctuary in Ethiopia was established in 1970 specifically to protect its elephants Loxodonta africana. They were once part of a larger population that ranged in eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia but that was largely extirpated during the 20th century. Since its establishment, the Sanctuary has experienced severe anthropogenic pressure, inadequate government support, and civil conflict. Mapping was undertaken to analyse the rate of human immigration into the Sanctuary in 2006, 2014 and 2017, as part of an assessment of the Sanctuary's effectiveness in protecting its resident elephant population and in mitigating anthropogenic pressures. From 2006 to 2017 the number of illegal houses in the Sanctuary increased from 18,000 to > 50,000, of which > 32,000 were in the area in which elephants range. This settlement, coupled with high demand for natural resources, has resulted in significant habitat destruction and could also have exacerbated human–elephant conflict. Elephant conservation and monitoring by the Born Free Foundation were challenging because of ethnic conflict; rural and political stability is required if efforts to protect wildlife are to be successful. Unless these issues are resolved and the integrity of the Sanctuary is restored, this elephant population will be extirpated in the near future.

From 2011 onward, a European agribusiness progressively purchased about 38,000 hectares of land in Zambia. Although operations have commenced on the ground, only part of the land has been developed. Salverda and Nkonde look at the reasons for and implications of this partial development, focusing particularly on how, in such a context, Zambia’s slow-moving land administration, lack of financing, and the presence of rural residents on the purchased land have become self-reinforcing challenges. Their aim is to provide insights about why (very large) land deals often fail to achieve their projected capacity, leaving both investors and local residents in limbo.

Analysis of satellite imagery covering Egypt between 2002 and 2013 indicates a significant increase in looting and other damage to archaeological sites. Looting escalated dramatically from 2009 with the onset of the global economic crisis, and intensified still further with the Arab Spring in 2011. This was mirrored by an increased volume of Egyptian artefacts sold at auction, suggesting that looting is driven by external demand as well as by internal economic pressures. Satellite analysis can be used to predict the type and period of antiquities entering the market, thereby providing valuable intelligence for international policing of the illicit antiquities trade.

Many plant species in tropical dry forests partly base their ability to persist after disturbance on resprouting. Yet little is known if this ability can be affected by the intensity and seasonality of disturbance and whether the amount of resources (starch, N, P) stored in the taproot may constrain this response. We investigated resprouting after experimental clipping or burning, applied before or after the dry season and repeatedly in Acacia pennatula individuals in wooded rangelands of North-West Nicaragua. Each treatment was applied to 12 trees and replicated in six plots. One year after the onset of the experiment, survival and biomass recovery were significantly lower in burned than in clipped individuals (78% ± 4% and 75.3 ± 8.0 g vs. 94% ± 2% and 79.1 ± 6.8 g; mean ± SE). Whatever the disturbance applied, trees disturbed after the dry season significantly showed the lowest survival, growth and concentration of N and P. These results suggest that resprouting in dry tropical species may be constrained by intense disturbances (e.g. burning) but especially if they occur towards the end of the dry season. This phenological constraint could be due to the reduced availability of N and P as this dry season progresses.

The first part of the Address is a review of changes over the last 30 years in the actuarial management of a life office — ranging from the introduction of the Appointed Actuary system to some of the consequences of the Financial Services Act. It draws attention to some of the differences in the regulatory treatment of life assurance companies and other competing organisations in the savings field, highlights some of the shortcomings in the European solvency regime that is currently being reviewed by the authorities, comments on developments in the area of anti-discriminatory legislation and draws attention to some possible problems arising from such legislation.

The Address continues by outlining some of the issues that must be tackled if the profession is to expand into other fields, and the last part comments on developments in the day-to-day management of the United Kingdom actuarial profession and the Faculty's relationship with the Institute.